Phase diagram of CeRh2As2 for out-of-plane magnetic field

Abstract

The heavy-fermion superconductor (SC) CeRh2As2 (Tc = 0.35 K) shows two SC phases SC1 and SC2 when a magnetic field is applied parallel to the c axis of the tetragonal unit cell. All experiments to date have indicated that the change in SC order parameter detected at μ0H∗ ≈ 4 T is due to strong Rashba spin-orbit coupling at the Ce sites caused by the locally noncentrosymmetric environments of the otherwise globally centrosymmetric crystalline structure. Another phase (phase I) exists in this material below T0 = 0.54 K. In a previous specific heat study [K. Semeniuk et al., Phys. Rev. B 107, L220504 (2023)], we have shown that phase I persists up to a field μ0H0 ≈ 6 T, larger than H∗. From thermodynamic arguments, we expected the phase-I boundary line to cross phase SC2 at a tetracritical point. However, we could not find any signature of the phase-I line inside the SC2 phase and speculated that this was because the T0(H) line is almost perpendicular to the H axis and therefore invisible to T-dependent measurements. This would imply a weak competition between the two order parameters. Here, we report magnetic-field-dependent measurements of the magnetostriction and ac susceptibility on high-quality single crystals. We see clear evidence of the singularity at H0 inside the SC2 phase and confirm our previous prediction. Furthermore, we observe the transition across the T∗(H) line in T-dependent specific heat measurements, which show that the T∗(H) line is not perpendicular to the field axis but has a positive slope. Our findings support recent muon spin resonance results which suggest coexistence of phase I with SC.